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Persona Books are an integrated collection

Persona digital publishes a series of books on current topics in
music, ecology, psychology, sociology, neuroscience and philosophy -- available from Alpha
Online. These books have been written by Stephen Gislason and go beyond the
practical medical applications described in the Alpha Education series.

The first book in this series, Human Nature, presents essential knowledge of
human nature, a 21st century description of anthropology, ecology, neuroscience,
sociology and psychology - disciplines that need to be integrated as they are in
these books. All the Persona Digital books describe the essential dynamics of human nature but emphasize different vantage points,
contributions from different disciplines and the needs of different readers.
Taken together, the books provide a comprehensive understanding of human nature.
For quick and inexpensive access to these books, click the eBook download button
associated with each book.

Human Nature

Presents essential knowledge of human nature. The topics are
essential to understanding human nature, its origins and its problems. You could
treat each topic as module of a larger system that develops emergent properties
as the modules interact. Each reader discovers the features of human nature in
himself or herself and then discovers similar features in others. After you
understand more about the dynamics of close relationships, you can look at
larger groups. You can continue by applying your insights into human dynamics to
governments, countries and international affairs. All the Persona Digital books
describe the same dynamics but emphasize different vantage points. Contributions
from different disciplines serves the needs of different readers. Taken together, the books provide a
comprehensive understanding of human nature.
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Surviving Human Nature

Focuses on the contradictions, paradoxes and
destructive tendencies inherent in human nature. Dr. G wrote:" In Surviving
Human Nature, I review the most urgent problems that all humans share. I
suggest solutions based on a current and detailed understanding of human nature.
I realize that all the issues I discuss are complex. I am examining the negative
features of humans without relinquishing hope. I am naturally optimistic and I
have enjoyed a privileged life. At the same time, I am well informed and not
afraid to confront the negative aspects of my nature and human nature in
general.

The 20th Century was the century of domination of planet earth by a single
species. Human activities have become all pervasive and clusters of human
constructions have replaced the natural world in all habitable regions of the
planet. Human events are deeply troubling overall but at the same time, much has
been accomplished in reaching for a sustainable, good life for some but not all
humans. At least one billion humans live in poverty, vulnerable to disease,
famine, natural disasters, injury and death inflicted by other humans. The 20th
century will be remembered as the century of waking up to the universe as it is.
We woke up to our own nature and responsibility and can no longer plead
ignorance

Humans changed the face of planet, driven animals and plants into
extinction, invented hydrogen bombs and other sophisticated killing machinery.
Humans fought wars, experimented with different social, political and economic
models of society. We survived two world wars and the threat of nuclear
annihilation. Some of us now enjoy unprecedented security and prosperity. Of all
human folly, the American-Russian military competition was the winner in the
insane game category, mutually assured destruction with hydrogen bombs. A
reprieve was achieved with the collapse of the Soviet Union; however, the bombs
have not gone away and the threat of destruction will recur unless a new
international government is successful in creating a more rational and
compassionate world with enforceable laws against killing and habitat
destruction. We have experimented with international coalitions and dreamed of a
benevolent world government but the negative features of human nature prohibit
the realization of the dream. We understood that persistent and unreasonable
conflict is characteristic of humans. Humans have proliferated beyond reasonable
numbers and despite amazing advances in science and technology; we have not
achieved sustainable levels of population. Climate, breathable air, food, water
and energy are finite resources that will limit the success of expanding
populations. Our infrastructures are temporary and vulnerable. Most reasonable
people now know that we can no longer rely on our instincts and let nature take
its course. Nor can we carry on with outdated social, religious and economic
ideologies based on misunderstandings of human nature and planet ecology. We
have to become better informed and more deliberate. We have to think ourselves
out of some dangerous predicaments and we need new ideas of social organization.

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I and Thou

Focuses on intimate relationships. Innate
tendencies are hard at work when people meet, become lovers and end with
arguments and fighting. The same tendencies determine how family members
interact and explain why so many families are “dysfunctional.” When lovers form
an enduring pair bond, they often become parents and everything changes.
Humans seek bonding with others are distressed when they become isolated.
Humans bond to each other in several ways. The most enduring bonds are
kin-related, based on closely shared genes. The deepest bonding occurs when
mother and infant are together continuously from birth and mother breast-feeds
the infant. Bonds among family members are the most enduring. Bonds to friends,
lovers and spouses are the next most significant. Bonds to colleagues, neighbors
and even strangers that are admired from a distance are next. Friendships are
often temporary bonds, based on the need to affiliate with others for
protection, social status, feeding, sex and fun. Success in business and
professions is dependent on affiliations with others. Success depends on what
you know, on who you know and how well you are regarded.

Affiliations are
ephemeral and must be maintained by regular contact, grooming, food sharing,
expressions of conformity and concern, and exchange of gifts and favors.
Trust is established over time by regular and reliable maintenance of
affiliation. The strongest connections are maintained by grooming, eating and
sleeping together. Social conventions rely on bonding. Descriptions such as
“love, affection, friendship, loyalty, duty, faith, and obligation” refer to
affiliation and bonding.

Humans groups employ bonding strategies intentionally –
initiating new members into the group with rituals, secrets, symbols, costumes
and codes that distinguish members from non-members. Groups emphasize special
privileges given to members and resist attempts of outsiders to enjoy these
privileges. The most celebrated bonding is described as "falling in love" and
occurs between individuals who are not related. The experience of falling in
love is a complex of feelings, emotions, perceptions and cognitions designed to
bring to two people together in a tight, exclusive bond that supports
reproduction. The essential feature of falling in love is a fascination with
another person coupled with a drive to be with them and to protect them. Men
often idealize their loved one and suspend business as usual in favor of serving
the needs of their potential spouses. Women are overwhelmed with maternal
feelings and fantasies of home, the family, and enduring devotion and support of
the male. The female task to choose the right male, motivate and train him to
devote all his resources to her and her children.
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Emotions and Feelings

Investigates the for-me-ness of
experiences, using neuroscience and philosophy.
Everyone has some idea what emotions and feelings are but their exact nature
is elusive. We can begin by noting that emotions and feelings are not the same.
The first issues to be discussed are semantic, not trivial by any means. There
are many words that refer to emotions and feelings. There is no standard use of
terms. We recognize that brains bring information about the outside world
together with information from inside the body. Images of the outside tend to be
detailed and explicit in consciousness. Monitor images from inside the body tend
to be vague and variable. Generally, humans are ignorant of internal processes
and invent all manner of imaginary and irrelevant explanations to explain
feelings. The term “emotion” is best used to point to animal and human behavior.
There are a small number of primary emotions and variations that involve
mixtures of emotional displays with other behaviors. Joy, anger, fear and pain
are pure emotions. Other, more complex and derivative experiences act as
interfaces to emotions. Love, jealousy and hate are not emotions. These are
descriptions of complex interactions and evaluations that involve a range of
feelings and interface to true emotions some of the time. For example, lovers
experience a range of feelings and display different emotions at different
times. Euphoria is the benefit of being in love. Sadness and anger are the cost
of being in love. Jealousy, like love, is another complex of cognitions,
feelings and emotions that exist to monitor and regulate close relationships.
The absence of emotional display is highly valued in polite society. Humans have
advanced toward civil and productive social environments that are emotionally
neutral. Emotional neutrality is a requirement for acceptable behavior in school
and work environments.
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Language and Thinking

Focuses on the innate features of
language and identify the uses and abuses of language in the creation of social
truths and lies. Language is an important tool and determinant of social
interactions. From the introduction. "Humans resemble other animals in their
ability to communicate. Communications involve chemical senses, sounds, body
language, and visual signals. Communication is all about community, sharing
information, sending warning signals and fulfilling the needs of the group.
Human languages combine many different expressions of communication in a complex
manner. Ideas about written language tend to dominate scholarly investigations,
but sounds and gestures have been more important in the evolution of
communication systems. Speaking is a spontaneous feature of the brain, and all
normal children will speak if they hear a language spoken; any language will do.
Older infants imitate words they hear spoken and if adults engage them in
conversation, will expand their vocabularies and start to make meaningful
statements."
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Intelligence and Learning

Describes the origins and features
of intelligence. Learning is discussed in terms of neuroscience. Education is
reviewed with a view to needed reformations for the 21st century. The challenge
is to become intelligent about intelligence. Humans have a great interest and
ability to create nonsense. You could argue that many of the features of
intelligence are deployed in the cause of nonsense but nonsense is not
intelligent. Intelligence is really about survival in a threatening world.
Humans survive because of the genius abilities such as vision, hearing, skilled
movement and speech; abilities that are built into their brain, innate gifts
from nature. Humans do not learn how to see or how to hear what is going on out
there, but they do have to learn what it means to them today. This is an
interactive process. Speech is a form of sound interaction. Although modern
humans tend to emphasize individual thought and expression, most “thinking” is
talking in groups. The value of speech is to connect individuals in “thinking”
groups. Books and other publications link large numbers of humans in common
patterns of language-dependent thinking. The newest human abilities are more
dependent on learning and are the least reliable. Reasoning, planning and
learning to tolerate other humans in a friendly constructive manner require the
most sustained practice. The term, “nice,’ refers to these characteristics and
therefore nice people require sustained learning to remain reasonable, to
tolerate others and to behave in a friendly, constructive manner. To become nice
and to remain rational and skilled, a human must belong to and work within a
supportive group that shares these characteristics. Human groups often have the
opposite effect, supporting intolerant and irrational thinking and behavior.
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The Good Person - Ethics and Morality

Ethics is about the interface between selfish interests and
actions and the common good. Both the good and the bad tendencies of
mindbodybrain are innate properties that have useful functions, were not
invented by modern society and are not going to change until the construction of
brain changes. The dialogue between good and bad in human affairs is constant,
predictable and universal. When a baby is born, the family and local community
begin to teach the emerging being what is going on here and now. They provide
the local language, costumes, customs beliefs and the local science and
technology. All adult humans have a n ethical standard and a technology to
teach. While the local culture has an obvious impact on the appearance and
behavior of emerging adults, the constant innate features of the human mind are
pervasive and persistent. The variance in mental abilities within a local group
will often be greater than inter-group variance.

Ethics are about standards and rules of conduct or, more
precisely, modern ethicists attempt to decide what good and reasonable behavior
is. All humans make decisions and evaluate the behavior of others. A scale of
evaluations from right to wrong is typical of ethical judgments. Each group
develops norms to guide actions and judgments about behavior.The presence of ethical standards requires individuals who can anticipate
the consequences of actions; evaluate consequences in terms of selfish and of
group interests; and who have the ability to choose between alternative courses
of action

In practice, professional ethicists are employed by
governments, universities, hospitals and other organizations; they do best by
examining specific situations and engaging the people involved in conversations
about specific interactions. When behavior and/or decisions are questionable but
laws have not been broken, Ethics committees substitute for judges or juries and
deliver advice or judgments. The value of ethics decreases as issues become of
more general importance or are issues of law. Professional ethics can be
appreciated as an abstract exercise in description and reasoning that may fail
to appreciate the deep determinants of human feelings, beliefs and conduct. This
inquiry is about human nature, complete with descriptions of imbedded social
regulation and morality. An understanding of all these discussions is required
for meaningful ethical discourse.

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Children and Family

Examines the intense interactions of
parents and children. From Dr. G's preface:" Parents receive a lot of advice
from many people. Popular magazines and books offer a continuous stream of
conflicting advice. Professionals have a variety of opinions about child-rearing
that range from helpful suggestions to misleading and even bizarre ideas. Child
psychology is an eclectic assembly of ideas, miscellaneous observations,
opinions, fears and irrational beliefs. Confusion prevails in education about
what children should learn and how they should learn it. Parents receive a lot
of advice from many people. Popular magazines and books offer a continuous
stream of conflicting advice.
If psychologists, physicians, and educators are confused, what about parents?
The best parents are pragmatic and not theorists. They stay involved with their
children, follow some basic guidelines they learned and tend to do whatever
works. Good parents improvise childcare with a combination of innate generosity,
common sense, love and concessions to the demands of modern life.

In this
book, I develop a perspective based on understanding human nature. The deep
lineage for every human lies in the interaction of many layers of biological
determinants. The culture of parents, schools and community impose a second
lineage on a child that sets limits on the form and content of learning. A
family is any combination of adults and children that creates a home. The
essence of family is caring and nurturing. We are social creatures. Children are
innately social, but need to learn what we are doing these days. The learning
requirement is greater than ever before, because we now depend on complicated
technologies and must learn to interact with a great number of other humans who
will be different from us in many ways. To include more humans in the family of
man as constructive peaceful contributors, each child must receive loving care,
the right food, sophisticated education, opportunities for employment and the
freedom to express his or her version of humanity. Thoughtful, well-educated and
affluent parents have the opportunity to understand their responsibilities, to
plan and allocate resources for an unborn child. A good parent faces a
continuous series of challenges and problems that need solution. Parenting is
not an easy job. A realistic understanding of human nature will help parents to
guide their children toward a successful adult life.
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The Sound of Music

Covers a wide range of music topics
from the history of instruments, music theory, composing to the most current
technologies involved in music composition and sound recording. A special
chapter on the Musical Brain explains current knowledge in the brain processing
of sound as it applies to language and music decoding. A chapter on the Music
Business reviews the dramatic changes in music marketed and discusses some of
the dilemmas and controversies facing musicians. The author states:" This book emerged from notes I have kept for several
decades. Over many years, I have learned more about music theory, electronics
applied to sound reproduction and to performance skills. Music descriptions
often are often complicated and the use of terms can be inconsistent and
confusing. As with other subjects I have tackled, I assumed that with a little
extra effort more precise descriptions would be welcomed by readers seeking a
practical understanding of music. We begin with a consideration of what sound is
and how animals use sounds to communicate. Music is not a human invention, but
we do elaborate sound communication more than other animals in our production of
both speech and musical performances. The discussion continues with noise, an
important topic that is poorly understood. A well informed musician will refrain
from making noise and understand Ambrose Bierce when he stated: Of all noise,
music is the least offensive." I include both acoustic and electronic
instruments in my discussions of music creation. In my world, electronics
dominate every aspect of work and play and most music I create and listen to was
created, stored and distributed electronically. The art and science of recording
is an important study for all 21st century musicians. Increased sophistication
about the nature of sound, the art of combining musical sounds, and the effect
on the listener's brain are all required for music to advance beyond noise
toward a more effective means of human communication."

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Neuroscience Notes

Places the human brain at the center of the
universe. Everyone needs to know something about neuroscience. The brain has
become a popular topic in all media, but confusions arise when the brain becomes
an abstract fantasy in the minds of journalists and product promoters. While it
is true that brain is the organ of the mind, our language makes it difficult to
speak correctly at different levels of meaning. Neuroscience notes will give the
intelligent reader and understanding of how the brain actually works.

Neuroscience views minds as manifestations of the living processes found in
brains. Brain science does not "explain" mind, or consciousness, but does give
us strategies for understanding the properties of mind. Neuroscientists have
made rapid progress in the past few decades and some of them are asking the same
sorts of questions that only philosophers used to ask. The difference is that
neuroscientists are sometimes able to ask more specific questions that may lead
to more insight into the basic principles of the human experience.

Neuroscientists are motivated and equipped to find real and practical answers to
philosophical questions, leaving philosophers behind in an anachronistic
philological niche, repeating discussions of what philosophers said hundreds to
thousands of years ago. This is not to argue that all neuroscientists are
philosophers or that all neuroscientists understand the human mind, since many
are focused on highly specialized tasks that reveal little or nothing about how
the whole system works. Neuroscience is the broad inquiry into the structure and
function of animal nervous systems. Neuroscience begins with the consideration
of how the simplest animals on the planet interact with their environments.

The
deep sense that develops in humans who study and understand life is that every
creature that lives on planet earth shares common properties. Nervous systems
allow organisms to sense, decide, act and remember. These properties begin as
simple devices and evolve into sensing strategies that are increasingly
complicated, more accurate and more effective. A complex device such as the
human eye is easier to understand if you already understand a simple device such
as light detecting pigment spot in a snail. Thus, it makes sense for a
neuroscientist to study all animals and to assume that principles learned about
older, simpler animals can be applied to newer, more complex animals such as
humans. Bodybrainmind is an open-ended, self-regulating system, highly
responsive to the molecular determinants impinging on it through food and the
environment. Life is an expression of cells, tiny containers of molecular codes
and metabolic processes. In system terms, a living cell is a self-regenerating,
recursive system that can reproduce itself through cell division. A human is
a community of several trillion cells that cooperate more or less to sustain a
life of limited duration.

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Religion for the 21st Century

Examines how innate tendencies are expressed as religions and how religions in
the past have created conflicts that threaten human survival or, at least,
hinder progress toward solutions. New religions and variations on old religions
continue to emerge. The book examines the best paths for religious renewal in
the 21st century.

Any discussion of religion invites misunderstanding and conflict. No
discussion of religion will make sense until the importance of group identity is
understood. Humans may sometimes look like individuals, but the truth is that
all humans are members of local groups that determine what they know, how they
communicate and how they treat other humans. Each local group develops stories,
beliefs and rules. Collections of local groups with special beliefs into larger
organizations are often described as “religion.” Members of local groups are
described as “religious” if they recite group slogans, attend meetings and
celebrations. Religions often claim special privileges for their members so that
the term “religious” is used to claim advantages and superior moral authority
where none actually exists. The idea of large multinational organizations called
“religions” is misleading. At best, the idea of religion is a fuzzy category
that implies more coherence than can be found in the real world. Religion is a
convenient fiction.

Humans have convened in small groups for thousands of
years to celebrate, to appease evil spirits and to encourage good spirits to
offer more privileges and benefits. Humans continue to dress up in costumes,
beat drums, chant, sing, and dance and make offerings to innumerable gods. These
celebrations help to maintain group unity and often induce euphoric feelings in
the participants. While there has always been an archetypal form to these group
activities, each local group develops its own version of myths, rituals and
celebrations.The belief in spirits is the universal form. The names, number
and idiosyncratic expressions of the spirits is the local content. If you
consider “religious” expressions around the world and throughout, history, you
would notice that there a number of basic themes with thousands of imaginative
variations. You also notice that in every tribe, village or city, people believe
they have special relationships with gods and spirits not enjoyed elsewhere.

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The Environment

In the 2018 book, The Environment, you will find
detailed information about the weather, soils, forests, energy sources, oceans and the atmosphere, air pollution, climate change,
air quality and the politics of the environment. The Environment is
available as a Printed book or as an eBook Edition for download.

Preface

"The earth is Our Mother. What befalls the earth
befalls all sons of the earth. The earth does not belong to man, man belongs
to the earth." Squamish Chief Seattle, 1855

In an ideal world, everyone would seek personal health
and well-being but at the same time
would strive to restore planet health. Smart people realize that no personal
benefit will survive long in a world that is ailing, polluted and careening
toward more man-made disasters. The really sad part of our current
predicament is that all the right ideas have been around for decades and
have been clearly articulated in many forms by a host of intelligent people.
The right ideas involve unselfish and compassionate behavior. The right
ideas involve long-term planning, conservation and a deep commitment to
preserving the natural world. Without a healthy natural environment, there
will be few or no healthy humans.

Humans will tolerate adverse conditions and
will persist in following daily routines even when air pollution is severe,
traffic is congested, water and food supplies are at risk, and social order
is unstable. The tolerance for environmental destruction is ancient and
human history is littered with civilizations that failed because humans
indiscriminately exploited natural resources and spoiled their own nest. The
human tendency is to plunder and pillage nature and to move on when
resources are depleted. The solution to this tendency requires strong
leadership by smart, well-educated compassionate humans who understand
natures is divine and understand that human survival depends on healthy
ecosystems.

My bias is strong and clear. I am on the side of
Nature. When I was five years old, my family moved a new suburb on the edge
of Toronto, a typical North American city beginning its post-war growth
spurt. My back yard was a forest that led down into a river valley - still
natural and full of wonder. For a few years, I enjoyed this natural
environment and made friends with trees, flowers, birds, raccoons and fish
in the river. I was never a hunter, but I was a participant, a fellow
creature among friends. I climbed trees. I discovered peace in the natural
environment.

The city grew, as I grew, and I watched the cherished
natural environments of my childhood disappear - swallowed up and replaced
by houses, roads, and shopping malls. I adapted to an increasingly urban
existence and enjoyed parts of it, but for many years, I dreamed of
returning to a place of nature. My family, like many others living in
Toronto, made regular weekend journeys out of the city to a cottage on Lake
Muskoka, 120 miles northwest of the city. The cottage was my gateway to the
natural world. The early cottagers of
the 1950s seemed to be more sensitive to nature and were content to paddle a
canoe and to sit on the dock and wonder at the spectacle of sunsets. They
felt privileged when they heard the call of the loons in the moonlight.

The idea of sustainable cities has many advocates and
number of articulate spokespersons live in my area. There is an intellectual willingness to
redeem and restore our environment and create plans based on conservation
and long-term stability. The problems exist, not for want of understanding
or competence in planning a better deal for humans and the environment. All
the necessary good ideas have already been written down and stated
repeatedly in journals, books, and at countless meetings and conferences.

The term “ecosystem” refers to living creatures interacting with each other
and with the physical features of the planet. Almost every student learns the
basics of ecosystems and can tell you that we need clean air, clean water and
food to sustain human populations. Some of these students will take the lessons
seriously and act more responsibly toward their local environments. Most
students, like most adult citizens, treat knowledge of ecosystems as an abstract
exercise and will consume, pollute and ignore the negative environmental
consequences of their actions. This is not to argue that these are irresponsible
or bad people. It is to argue that book knowledge is too abstract and that
humans only respond to locally perceived environmental conditions.

Order Persona Books

Persona Digital publishes a series of books on current topics in
psychology, sociology, neuroscience and philosophy. The author is Stephen
Gislason MD.

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